


I'm Proud of Us

by MegaFrost4



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Confession, Endgame, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Regret, Stony - Freeform, Whatever it takes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 14:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30090663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaFrost4/pseuds/MegaFrost4
Summary: They came home, defeated.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Kudos: 24





	I'm Proud of Us

Steve washed his face, feeling that smooth skin for the first time in...how long was it? About two years. Two years, and he was finally welcomed home. It was hard coming back, when not everyone was ever going to come back.

The sink and mirror rattled, alerting the former captain that they had company. He threw his shirt on and ran outside, meeting Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey. Thor was, well...Steve figured he still needed time to come around.

In the cool night air, a ship was being carried by a woman glowing. She set it down carefully, then turned to look sadly at them. The ship opened up, and a gasp for air could be heard, steam billowing out around the Earth's surface. A blue woman held Tony Stark, leading him down before letting him go into Steve's arms. Steve did not even notice the woman collapse onto the ship and the raccoon comfort her by taking her hand.

"I couldn't stop him..." That scratchy voice told him. 

"Neither could I..." Steve meant it as a comfort, that it was not his fault. _None of it was your fault...it was mine..._

Steve could feel the weight of everyone's eyes on them as they went inside the Compound. He could also hear Natasha whisper to Rhodey to "give them a minute"...

His stomach was in knots as he led Tony to the bathroom... _their_ bathroom, previously...now, it was just Tony's...

"I lost him..." Tony said a little more firmly this time, but he choked back a sob.

Steve jolted around at the sudden volume and dove to his knees in front of the fragile man.

"He's not with..." 

Tony shook his head. Steve's heart shattered. 

"No..."

"There was nothing I could do...he just..." Tony cried hard, unable to breathe, unable to explain himself. Steve wrapped his arms around him, and Tony winced.

Steve jumped back, noticing his hand was a little sticky. "Tony?"

"I gave him a run for his money..." Tony tried to play it off, but Steve was already halfway out the door calling for Bruce.

* * *

"He'll be out for the rest of the night..." Bruce came out, telling everyone the news. He turned to the blonde, Carol Danvers, a friend of Fury's. "Thank-you for picking him up..."

"Lucky I found them. They were a long way from home..."

"He was..." Nebula fiddled with her arm, but eventually gave up, throwing the wrench on the table. Rocket silently offered to help, and she did not have the energy to argue.

"I think we all need to at least pretend to get some sleep..." Natasha pointed out. "We can regroup tomorrow."

Steve silently got up and went to the medical room to sit with Tony.

* * *

Thor watched the sun rise on a new day, his tear-stained face never ceasing to pray to his family. 

"I have failed you all..." He said through tears. 

" _Thor?_ " Bruce came out with two cups of coffee. "Look, it's been rough for you lately, but you can't blame yourself. We all failed...we..." _We lost. And there was nothing I could do to bring the big guy back out to give us a fighting chance._

"I had him, Bruce..." Thor said, broken. "I had him, but I hesitated. Vengeance consumed me, and I..." His hands shook, coffee spilling over onto the ground.

Bruce just sat with him, rubbing his back for comfort.

* * *

Natasha, Carol, and Rhodey stared at the holograms all night, on into the morning. One by one, faces appeared to be confirmed to have vanished, or missing. They were not...they were _murdered._

"I need a minute..." Natasha walked outside.

"So, where have you been? Fury never mentioned you..." Rhodey said. "I...didn't mean for that to sound accusatory, I just-"

"It's ok...I've been...busy. Cleaning up messes, stopping wars...there's a lot of other plants out there. They weren't lucky enough to have you guys." Carol smirked. 

Rhodey nodded in understanding. "Ever seen anything like this before?"

She shook her head. "In all my years...nothing this horrifying..."

* * *

Tony woke up, feeling pressure on his hand. He squeezed it, and was wide awake, when that weight disappeared, and he saw Steve's tired eyes staring at him.

"Are you...are you ok?" Steve asked, clearly exhausted. 

"I gotta say...this is my top five worst hangovers..." Tony smiled. Steve looked away, hiding tears. "Steve?"

Steve looked at him, and it was hard to read.

"I'm sorry..." He took Steve's hand again. "I was an idiot. And...I should've called you..."

"You're not..." Steve swallowed. "You're not-"

"I just want peace..." Tony huffed. "I'm tired of fighting, especially with you. Steve, I messed up...you messed up...we both handled ourselves like a bunch of toddlers, and my stubborn ass didn't call for help when I clearly needed it. Now, look at us..."

"Tony, I meant every word I said..." Tears fought to present themselves. "I'm so sorry I lied to you..."

"It's ok, babe..." Tony let a tear fall. "I forgive you...if you'll forgive me..."

"...of course I do..." Steve could not stop himself from leaning forward and hugging the man. Tony hugged back, missing this, missing him so much.

"Hey..." Tony wiped tears off of Steve's cheek. " _I'm proud of us_..." At Steve's confused look, he continued. "After everything we have been through: the Chitauri, Ultron...the Accords...and now Thanos again...what did you tell me back then? How are we going to beat them?"

It was only then Steve noticed Tony was still wearing his ring. He looked back into Tony's dark, pleading eyes. "Together."

"And every time...every time, we won, didn't we?" Steve nodded. "And I let us lose...but you know what? We're together now...and that's something to be proud of. Because now that we lost, I'm pissed. And when I'm pissed, _nothing_ , not even that self-proclaimed god can stop me now..."

"And I'm going to make sure you... _we_ win this time..." Steve promised.

They may have lost the battle, technically the last few. But they would _not_ lose the war...whatever it takes.


End file.
